Skinner (1938)

• Method

  • Skinner created a 'skinner box' in which placed one hungry rat at a time
  • the box contained a lever, speaker, lights, electric shock floor and a food dispenser
  • the time taken for the rats to press the lever (which would release food) would be recorded
  • he also carried out variations using negative reinforcement where the rat would learn to press the lever to stop an electric shock
• Results

  • initially, the rat would run around the box until it accidentally pressed the lever to release the reward
  • each time the rat was put in the box, it got quicker at learning to press the lever
• Conclusion

  Rats can learn behaviour through operant conditioning - a behaviour such as pressing the lever can produce a positive reward (positive reinforcement)
• Evaluation


  • Skinner's experiment has been hugely influential in promoting the idea of behavioural psychology
  • however, the use of animals means results are not generalisable
  • his sample was also small, so therefore not reliable